Homebrewing has really spoiled me

[cweston]

My family took me to Red Robin for father's day. (I'm the every day cook so going out is a break for me.)

I had a Boulevard Pale Ale.

Now, I know that this is a decent but fairly unremarkable beer, but it had been a while since I had had one (I drink very little store-bought beer anymore), and I was amazed at how BMC-ish it tasted to me.

Take 10 lbs of 2-row, a couple oz of crystal, 25 IBUs and very little hops flavor and aroma, and you've got the beer I had. I'm drinking one of my IPAs right now and it's just like night and day. Different styles, of course, but I guess I tend to forget just how good good homebrew is compared to all but the best commercial beers.

 

[david_42]

Had to think about this one for a while. I realized that my puzzlement was simply that, other than Tom's pizza place, I rarely eat anywhere other than a brewpub. The exceptions tend to be places with a couple dozen craft beers on tap.

There's a reason I retired in Oregon.

 

[Spyk'd]

I feel your pain. I was out to eat the other night and almost sent a Newcastle back because it didn't taste "malty" enough to me. Of course, I was simply used to my brown ale and I'm sure the Newcastle still tasted fine to most other people.


It's kind of like me ordering a steak in a restaurant. I won't do it anymore because I cook such a mean steak at home myself. My wife won't even order a steak out anymore. It's tough to be a good homebrewer AND a good cook...

 

[Cheesefood]

Before I started brewing, a case of Miller Lite wouldn't last a week in my fridge. I've had a 12er (minus a few) in there for about 2-3 weeks now. We bought it because we decided to play quarters one night and needed something chug worthy.

I had my first Bud Light in years the other day. It tasted like nothing. It was like a carbonated water with a little sugar to soften the bubbles. Blech.

Now, I still enjoy some store-bought, but rarely. These days, if I'm not drinking my brew, I'm probably drinking Maker's Mark. I've become a strong devotee of Maker's. Give me one on the rocks with a Romeo Y Julieta cigar and I'm in heaven.

 

[NEPABREWER]

I feel your pain. I was out to eat the other night and almost sent a Newcastle back because it didn't taste "malty" enough to me. Of course, I was simply used to my brown ale and I'm sure the Newcastle still tasted fine to most other people.


It's kind of like me ordering a steak in a restaurant. I won't do it anymore because I cook such a mean steak at home myself. My wife won't even order a steak out anymore. It's tough to be a good homebrewer AND a good cook...

Shoot - you can say that again. Sometimes Id rather not have the break if it means eating and drinking some other guys passionless vittles.

 

[SwAMi75]

Now that I've got my kegging setup unscrewed so I'm not overcarbing every damn thing I brew, I'm all set. I was having to drop some coin on storebought stuff so I could feed the monkey, but now I have no need to. And just in time because I'm broke at the moment.

 

[Klainmeister]

I love the comment "retired in Oregon". Fortunately for me i grew up here and am moving from Salem to Corvallis this fall. I still think some brews around here are good, but anything that i can find on the East coast as well as here, hell no. Speaking of which, anyone else notice Widmer's seem to be getting more watering these last few months?

 

[EvilTOJ]

I wouldn't know, I'm too busy drinking my own brew to be buying it from others. Then again, I do need to buy a sixer of Drop Top and see how off I was with my cloning attempt.

 

[Brewiz]

Now, I still enjoy some store-bought, but rarely. These days, if I'm not drinking my brew, I'm probably drinking Maker's Mark. I've become a strong devotee of Maker's. Give me one on the rocks with a Romeo Y Julieta cigar and I'm in heaven.

Cheesefood, have you gone to the Maker's website and signed up to be an Ambassador? If not you need to check it out, you can get some good deals on limited release items.

 

[Treekiller]

These days, if I'm not drinking my brew, I'm probably drinking Maker's Mark. I've become a strong devotee of Maker's. Give me one on the rocks with a Romeo Y Julieta cigar and I'm in heaven.

Try it with an Arturo Fuente 8-5-8, now that is one fine cigar.

 

[alemonkey]

Now, I still enjoy some store-bought, but rarely. These days, if I'm not drinking my brew, I'm probably drinking Maker's Mark. I've become a strong devotee of Maker's. Give me one on the rocks with a Romeo Y Julieta cigar and I'm in heaven.

I hear ya...not much beats Maker's on the rocks.

 

[Levers101]

I love the comment "retired in Oregon". Fortunately for me i grew up here and am moving from Salem to Corvallis this fall. I still think some brews around here are good, but anything that i can find on the East coast as well as here, hell no. Speaking of which, anyone else notice Widmer's seem to be getting more watering these last few months?

I can't really tell as far as past Widmer's goes because I only first had it a month or so ago in my spree to build up a stash of bottles for homebrew, but I had their Hefeweizen and it was pretty lackluster. It was much more like a American wheat a la Boulevard wheat than a Hefe. Totally disappointing... but it was fairly cheap if I remember right, and you tend to get what you pay for unless you're paying for a name.

I had a pitcher of PBR at a bar to get free wings last Wednesday because I was too cheap to spring for a higher quality brew. A friend asked me to taste his pitcher because he thought he got the PBR I ordered over the Bud Light he got... I personally couldn't tell the difference. Both were pretty dismal.

 

[cweston]

I hear ya...not much beats Maker's on the rocks.

I like Makers Mark.

If I'm drinking straight up, I like Knob Creek better.

If on the rocks, Elijah Craig is a fantastic bourbon for the money. (I really prefer Bourbon straight up, but Elijah Craig tastes a little too "hot" to me stright up.)

 

[alemonkey]

I had a Widmer's a few weeks ago - it's decent, but I agree, it shouldn't be called a Hefeweizen. It's just a plain old American wheat. I think comparing it with Boulevard is pretty accurate. I like it, but it is what it is.

 

[Robbw]

I'll take the RyJ over the 858 if it's from Havana. Otherwise....I agree.

As for the beer, I've now become very sensitive to places that don't properly clean their beer lines. Had a great local beer a couple weeks back at a restaurant. The beer tasted like crap, no doubt due to the beer lines. I sent it back and had something in a bottle.